PRACTICE NOTES

December 2014

The mood was light but the focus remained sharp as No. 8 Michigan State got its last taste of AT&T Stadium before its Jan. 1 showdown with No. 5 Baylor in the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

MSU (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) captured its official bowl memory with a team photo prior to a light walk-through. Spending nearly 45 minutes in t-shirts and shorts, the team was meticulous in putting the final touches on its preparations for the program’s 25th all-time bowl appearance.

“We just wanted to move around for a little bit,” said head coach Mark Dantonio.

Baylor completed its final on-field piece of preparation for the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic by conducting a walk-through at AT&T Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

The No. 5 Bears (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) spent about an hour doing light work for their New Year’s Day game against No. 8 Michigan State (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) before heading back to the team hotel for final meetings.

“It has been a great week and it is show time,” Baylor Head Coach Art Briles said earlier in the day.

With most of its Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic preparations in the books, No. 8 Michigan State took to the turf on Tuesday afternoon for a final all-out practice at AT&T Stadium.

MSU did not slack off in their fifth Classic workout, conducting a spirited session in shorts and shells that lasted more than two hours. Continuing a program tradition, head coach Mark Dantonio concluded practice with a video tribute to the senior class followed by every senior walking down a receiving line to share final goodbyes with other teammates, coaches and support staff.

Competing in a major bowl game is no longer new to Baylor. Now the Bears want to experience winning one.

That was the predominant storyline Tuesday as players went through media day for the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic after a light practice at AT&T Stadium.

Baylor was heavily favored but lost to UCF in last year’s Fiesta Bowl. So it’s easy to understand the primary motivation for the No. 5 Bears (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) as they prepare to meet No. 8 Michigan State (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) on Thursday.

No. 8 Michigan State soaked up another action-packed day, from talking with the media to touching lives to, of course, getting in some work on the practice field, at the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

The day began with the team’s offensive news conference at the Omni Dallas Hotel. Quickly after, the entire roster and head coach Mark Dantonio took a step away from football to spend quality time visiting children at the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. From there, the team regrouped at its headquarters hotel before making the trek back to Arlington for practice.

Baylor remained squarely focused on Michigan State on Monday but didn’t mind getting good news for the 2015 season, too.

All-Big 12 defensive end Shawn Oakman announced that he would return for his senior season during a morning news conference for the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

“I would classify it as great news,” Bears Head Coach Art Briles said. “Any time you have two guys the caliber of Oakman and Spencer Drango come back and help maintain your program and escalate it, hopefully, to even higher levels, because we still have some mountains to climb, it certainly gives us a better opportunity [to compete for a national championship] when you come out of the gates with guys that have been there.

It was a busy day for No. 8 Michigan State as the Spartans began to hit their stride on their third day of preparations for the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

Following its morning defensive news conference in Dallas, MSU headed back to Arlington for another physical workout at AT&T Stadium. Head Coach Mark Dantonio took his squad through another intense session in full pads, which once again ran just over two and a half hours.

Keeping your game-week routine intact is challenging during a bowl, but Baylor has stuck pretty close to its usual script.

The Bears (11-1, 8-1 Big 12) practiced for about one hour and 45 minutes Sunday at AT&T Stadium in preparation for the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic on Thursday.

Getting on the field at 9 a.m. is different than the usual afternoon practices during the regular season. But the practice structure remains the same against Michigan State (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) as if it were for a Big 12 opponent.

No. 8 Michigan State put in serious work with a two-and-a-half hour practice in full pads at AT&T Stadium in preparation for its Jan. 1 matchup with No. 5 Baylor in the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

“(It was a) good practice, just getting our legs back underneath us,” said head coach Mark Dantonio. “It was a long practice, which we’re going to need to play well in the game on Thursday.”

The Spartans (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten) got back at it on the heels of assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Pat Narduzzi being named head coach at Pittsburgh a day earlier.

Baylor returned to its home away from home Saturday, going through its first AT&T Stadium practice for the 79th Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.

The Bears (11-1, 8-1 Big 12), who have played in AT&T Stadium five consecutive seasons, worked for one hour and 45 minutes in preparation for their game Friday against Michigan State (10-2, 7-1 Big Ten).

Head Coach Art Briles said the team’s energy was “pretty good.”

“I thought our focus was good,” Briles said.

January 2014

GRAPEVINE, Texas – Oklahoma State followed its normal game-week schedule by conducting a walkthrough Thursday, a little over 24 hours ahead of its matchup with Missouri in the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic.

Instead of staging the walkthrough at AT&T Stadium, the 13th-ranked Cowboys (10-2, 7-2 Big 12) accomplished what they needed to accomplish at the team hotel, OSU and No. 8 Missouri (11-2, 7-2 SEC) meet Friday.

Oklahoma State practiced six consecutive days after arriving for bowl week, two of those at AT&T Stadium and four at a local high school.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Head Coach Mike Gundy knew that game day was almost here Wednesday by the way his players practiced.

Oklahoma State punctuated a week of practices for the AT&T Cotton Bowl with a session high on concentration at AT&T Stadium. Players worked for about 90 minutes in helmets, shoulder pads and shorts in what equated to a regular-season Thursday practice, the last before the game.

Arlington – The No. 8 Missouri Tigers hit the practice field one final time with a 90-minute workout at AT&T Stadium with the 78th AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic looming in two days.

Mizzou (11-2, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) took time to work on its final adjustments, while making sure to continue its emphasis on fundamentals in preparation for the No. 13 Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-2, 7-2 Big 12 Conference).

Leading the list of 32 Tigers returning to their home state for the program’s 30th bowl game is senior QB James Franklin.

December 2013

Arlington – The No. 8 Missouri Tigers spent New Year’s Eve morning back on the practice field with their focus squarely on the 78th AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and their opponent, the No. 13 Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Mizzou (11-2, 7-1 Southeastern Conference) was crisp in its workout that ran just under two hours. Working in pads and shorts, the team conducted group work sessions accompanied with some full-field scrimmaging in fine-tuning its game plan for Oklahoma State (10-2, 7-2 Big 12 Conference).

EULESS, Texas – Oklahoma State completed its fourth practice in preparation for the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic, working for an hour and 45 minutes Monday at Trinity High School.

“Practice was good,” Head Coach Mike Gundy said. “We went through special teams and had good offensive and defensive periods. The attitude and tempo were really good. We’ve got great senior leadership with 28 of those guys. That helps us during bowl week.”

One of those seniors, cornerback Justin Gilbert, will be on the defensive side of perhaps the game’s most intriguing matchup, going against Missouri receiver Dorial Green-Beckham.